Origin
Cooper : 1: English: occupational name for a maker and repairer of wooden vessels such as barrels tubs buckets casks and vats from Middle English couper cowper (apparently from Middle Dutch kūper a derivative of kūp ‘tub container’ which was borrowed independently into English as coop). The prevalence of the surname its cognates and equivalents bears witness to the fact that this was one of the chief specialist trades in the Middle Ages throughout Europe. In North America the English surname has absorbed some cases of like-sounding cognates from other languages for example Dutch Kuiper.2: Americanized form of Jewish (Ashkenazic) Kupfer and Kupper (see Kuper).3: Dutch: occupational name for a buyer or merchant Middle Dutch coper.
Backus : 1: English (Leicestershire): from Middle English bak(e)hous ‘bakehouse’ (Old English bæchūs) hence a topographic name for someone who lived or worked in a bakery.2: Dutch: in Limburg province a shortened variant of Bakhuis Dutch form of German Backhaus.3: Americanized form of German Backhaus.4: Lithuanian (Bačkus): from bačka ‘barrel cask’ hence either a nickname for a short fat man or an occupational name for a cooper. The surname Bačkus is very rare in Lithuania.
Bander : 1: German (Bänder): occupational name for a cooper (see Bender).2: Jewish (Ashkenazic; also Bänder): from German Band ‘cord’ + the suffix -er either an occupational name for a cord maker or a name distributed at random by Austrian clerks.
Barela : 1: Hispanic: altered form of Galician Varela.2: Polish (Bareła): from baryła ‘barrel’ hence a metonymic occupational name for a cooper.
Baril : French: from Old French baril ‘barrel’ applied as a metonymic occupational name for a cooper or a nickname for a rotund man. Compare Barry 7 and Berry 7.
Barile : Italian: from barile ‘barrel’ hence a metonymic occupational name for a cooper or a nickname for a fat man.
Barilla : 1: Italian: occupational name from medieval Greek barellas ‘cooper’ from barella ‘barrel’ (a loanword from Italian) with the occupational suffix -(e)as.2: Rusyn (from Slovakia): metonymic occupational name for a cooper or a nickname derived from barylo ‘barrel’.3: Hispanic: altered form of Spanish Varilla.
Barillaro : Italian: occupational name for a cooper from a derivative of barile ‘barrel’ (see Barile).
Barrell : English:: 1: from Middle English barel ‘barrel cask’ Old French baril hence a metonymic occupational name for a cooper or possibly to denote someone with a rotund figure or who drank excessively.2: habitational name from Barwell in Leicestershire named with Old English bār ‘wild boar’ + well(a) ‘spring stream’.3: (of Huguenot origin): variant of Beharrell apparently from a variant of French bihoreau ‘(black-crowned) night heron’ (from earlier buhoreau).
Barylski : Polish: occupational name for a cooper from baryła ‘barrel’ + the surname ending -ski.
Bednarski : 1: Polish and Jewish (from Poland): habitational name for someone from any of various places called Bednary Bednarze or Bednarskie.2: Jewish (from Poland): patronymic from Polish bednarz an occupational name for a cooper (see Bednarz).
Bednarz : Polish and Jewish (from Poland): occupational name for a cooper Polish bednarz.
Bender : 1: German: occupational name for a cooper a short form of Fassbender. Compare Bainter and Painter.2: English (London): metonymic occupational name for an archer or bow maker from Middle English bender an agent derivative of benden ‘to bend’ (Old English bendan). Compare Benbow.3: Hungarian: from bender ‘curl’ hence a nickname for someone with curly hair.4: Croatian: nickname or metonymic occupational name from bender a term denoting a musical instrument similar to a tambourine.5: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): habitational name from the town of Bendery (now in Moldova).6: Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Bander 2.
Betker : North German: occupational name for a cooper. Compare Boettcher.
Binder : 1: South German Swiss German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a cooper or barrel maker German (Fass)binder an agent derivative of binden ‘to bind’. Less often the same word was used to denote a bookbinder (compare English name below). This surname is also found in Denmark France (Alsace and Lorraine) Czechia Slovakia Poland and Slovenia. Compare Boettcher Buettner Pinter 1 and Schaeffler.2: German: variant of Bunde 2.3: English: occupational name from Middle English binder ‘binder’ (Old English bindere) probably for a bookbinder. Compare Bookbinder.
Bittenbender : Altered form of German Bittenbinder an occupational name for a cooper from Middle High German büte(n) ‘cask (wine) barrel’ + binder ‘binder’ (agent derivative of binden ‘to bind’). Compare Fassbender.
Bocker : North German (Böcker) and Danish: occupational name for a cooper (see Boecker).
Boczar : Polish: occupational name for a cooper.
Bodecker : North German (Bödecker): occupational name for a cooper a variant of Bödeker (see Boedeker). Compare Boedecker.
Bodeker : North German (Bödeker): occupational name for a cooper see Boedeker.
Bodnar : 1: Ukrainian and Rusyn: occupational name for a cooper from an agent noun based on bodnya ‘tub’. In Slovakia the Rusyn name is spelled Bodnár (compare 2 below).2: Hungarian and Slovak (Bodnár): occupational name from Hungarian bodnár ‘cooper’ a Slavic loanword (see 1 above) of ultimately Old German origin. Compare Bednar.3: Polish: borrowing from German Bodner 2 meaning ‘cottager’ or from Ukrainian and Rusyn (see 1 above) meaning ‘cooper’ (compare Bednarz).
Boedeker : North German (mainly Bödeker): occupational name for a cooper from Middle Low German bodeker bödeker an agent derivative of bodek budik ‘vat barrel’. The surname Bödeker is also found in the Netherlands. Compare Bodeker and also Boddicker Boedecker Boedicker and Boeker 2.
Boettcher : German (mainly Böttcher): occupational name for a cooper from Middle High German botecher bötticher bütticher an agent derivative of botech(e) bottich bütte ‘vat barrel’. See also Binder Buettner and Schaeffler compare Bottcher.
Bondar : Ukrainian and Jewish (from Ukraine and Belarus): occupational name for a cooper Ukrainian bondar. This surname is also found in Poland.
Bonder : 1: Polish: variant of Bondar.2: Dutch: variant of Boender.3: German (also Bönder): rare variant of Bender.4: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): occupational for a cooper from Yiddish bonder (compare Bondar).
Bosier : 1: Altered form of Bozarth a surname of French origin.2: French (Nord): occupational name for a cooper from an agent derivative of Old French bosse ‘barrel’. This form of the surname is very rare in France; in North America it may thus (also) be an altered form of the more common French variant Bossier. See also 1 above.
Bossier : French: occupational name for a cooper from an agent derivative of Old French bosse ‘barrel’.
Botticelli : Italian: from botticella ‘little barrel’ hence an occupational name for a cooper (see Botte 2) or a nickname for a heavy drinker or a short and corpulent person.
Boutte : French: from Old French bo(u)te ‘cask barrel’ applied as a metonymic occupational name for a cooper or as a nickname for a potbellied man.
Budde : 1: North German: metonymic occupational name for a cooper from Middle Low German budde ‘tub vat’. Compare Buettner.2: German Dutch and Danish: from a derivative of the ancient Germanic personal name Bodo.3: English (Middlesex): variant of Budd.
Buettner : German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) (Büttner): occupational name for a cooper or barrel-maker German Büttner an agent derivative of Middle High German büte(n) ‘cask wine barrel’. Compare Buttner.
Buss : 1: English (Sussex and Kent) of Norman origin: variant of Boyce alias Bush.2: English: alternatively from Middle English Old French busse ‘cask barrel’ perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a cooper or a nickname for a large rotund man.3: German: from a short form of the personal name Bushard (see Bosshart). This surname is also found in Poland.4: Hungarian: variant of Bus.5: Danish: variant of Buus.
Busson : 1: English (Gloucestershire; of Norman origin): nickname from Old French bouzon buzun ‘large arrow crossbow bolt (as a heraldic device)’ perhaps used metaphorically of a person who bore some physical resemblance to a bolt. Compare Boughen 1.2: English (Gloucestershire): perhaps a variant of Bushen.3: French: metonymic occupational name for a cooper from a derivative of Old French busse ‘barrel’.4: French: regional variant of Buisson.
Coop : 1: English (Lancashire): metonymic occupational name for a cooper from Middle English coupe cupe ‘tub cask’ (from Latin cūpa) probably used for a cooper; compare Cooper. In some cases the surname may have been derived from a pub or house sign.2: Americanized form of German or Dutch Koop.
Coopey : variant of Cooper; note John Coopy or Cooper 1626 in PROB 11.
Coupe : English (Midlands and Lancashire): from Middle English coupe cupe ‘tub cask’ (from Latin cupa) probably a metonymic occupational name for a cooper. Alternatively sometimes perhaps a topographic name for someone living by an inn with the sign of a cask.
Cover : 2: English: occupational name for a roofer from Old French co(u)vreur an agent derivative of co(u)vrir ‘to cover’. Roofing materials in the Middle Ages might be tiles (see Tyler) slates (see Slater) or thatch (see Thatcher) depending on the regional availability of suitable materials.1: English (of Norman origin): occupational name for a cooper from an agent derivative of Middle English Old French cuve ‘cask vat’ or from an unattested Old French cuvier ‘cooper’ (from Late Latin cupa of ancient Germanic origin; compare Cooper).3: Americanized form of German Kober.
Cubero : Spanish: occupational name for a cooper from an agent derivative of cuba ‘barrel tub’.
Cuvelier : French (northern) Walloon and Flemish: occupational name for a cooper from an agent derivative of (Old) French cuve ‘vat tun’. This surname is also found in the in the Netherlands.
Fassbender : German: occupational name for a cooper (standard German Fassbinder) from Middle High German faz ‘cask barrel’ + binder ‘joiner’. This is a term used in northern Germany. The surname Fassbender is also found in the Netherlands. Compare Fasbender Fasbinder and Vasbinder.
Fassler : German (also Fässler): occupational name for a cooper from Middle High German vaz vezzel ‘keg’ (a diminutive of vaz ‘barrel’) + the agent suffix -er.
Fessler : 1: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a cooper Middle High German vezzeler an agent derivative of faz ‘barrel keg’.2: Swiss German: nickname for a complainer probably from Middle High German vassen ‘to enquire to investigate’.
Firkin : from Middle English fir(de)kin ‘wooden cask; quarter of a barrel (as a measure of capacity)’ for a cooper or beer seller or perhaps for a heavy drinker.
Firkins : English (West Midlands): patronymic from Firkin a metonymic occupational name for a cooper or beer seller or perhaps for a heavy drinker from Middle English fir(de)kin ‘wooden cask; quarter of a barrel (as a measure of capacity)’ probably from a Middle Dutch diminutive of vierde ‘fourth (part)’. As a measure of capacity a firkin was reckoned as a quarter of a barrel.
Ganter : 1: South German: occupational name for an official in charge of the legal auction of property confiscated in default of a fine; such a sale was known in Middle High German as a gant (from Italian incanto a derivative of Late Latin inquantare ‘to auction’ from the phrase In quantum? ‘To how much (is the price raised)?’).2: German: metonymic occupational name for a cooper from Middle High German ganter kanter ‘barrel rack’.3: German: variant of Gander 3. This surname (in any of the possible senses; see also above) is also found in France (Alsace and Lorraine).4: English and French: occupational name for a maker or seller of gloves from Middle English ga(u)nter Old French gantier.5: Germanized or Americanized form of Slovenian Gantar: occupational name from a dialect variant of gontar ‘shingler’. Alternatively perhaps a nickname or metonymic occupational name from gantar ‘wooden pedestal for barrels in the cellar’.
Genthner : German: southern variant of Ganter 2 an occupational name for a cooper.
Hooper : English (southwestern): occupational name for a cooper someone who fitted wooden or metal hoops on wooden casks and barrels or a barrel-maker from Middle English hoper an agent derivative of hop ‘hoop band’. Compare Cooper.
Jarlett : from a derivative of Old French gerle ‘tub cask’ probably for a cooper.
Kadar : 1: Hungarian (Kádár): occupational name for a cooper from kádár a Slavic loanword. The surname Kadar of Hungarian origin is also found in Romania and Serbia and also among Rusyns while in Slovakia it is spelled Kádár and sometimes Kadár and Kádar.2: Hungarian: from a personal name in Hun mythology. In 19th-century Hungarian romantic literature this was taken as a common noun meaning ‘judge’ or ‘chieftain’ from the time of the Magyar conquest of the Carpathian Basin.3: Jewish: in some cases an adoption of the Hungarian name; in others a variant of Kader.
Keeble : 1: English (southeastern): nickname from Middle English kibble ‘cudgel’ perhaps for someone who used or made cudgels or whose physique resembled one.2: Americanized form of South German Kübel a metonymic occupational name for a cooper from Middle High German kübel ‘tub vat’.
Keibler : Americanized form of South German Kiebler an occupational name for a cooper (see Kuebler).
Kibble : 1: English: variant of Keeble.2: Altered form of German Kibbel or Kübel a metonymic occupational name for a cooper from Middle High German kübel ‘vat’ from Latin cupella ‘drinking vessel grain measure’. Compare Kibler.
Kibel : 1: German: unrounded form of Kübel a metonymic occupational name for a cooper from Middle High German kübel ‘vat tub’.2: English: variant of Keeble.
Kiebler : Austrian Swiss German and South German: occupational name for a cooper a variant of Kübler (see Kuebler).
Kiefer : 1: German: occupational name for a cooper or the overseer of a wine cellar from an agent derivative of Middle High German kuofe ‘vat barrel’ (from Latin cupa).2: German: possibly also from an agent derivative of Middle High German kiffen ‘to quarrel’ hence a nickname for a bickerer.3: Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name from German Kiefer ‘pine tree’. This word which is first attested in the early 15th century is a blend of kien and forhe both meaning ‘pine’. The two elements still have a separate existence: kieboom is the Dutch term for a pine tree while in many parts of Germany the word for the tree is Föhre.
Kimm : 1: English: variant of Kemm. It is found chiefly in Kirkcudbrightshire Scotland.2: German: probably a metonymic occupational name for a cooper from Middle High German kimme a term denoting the notch in the staves of a barrel where the base is seated; by extension it also has the meaning ‘edge horizon’ and in this sense may also have given rise to a topographic name.
Kimmer : 1: German: metonymic occupational name for a cooper from an agent derivative of Middle High German kimme ‘rim flange (on a tub)’ (see Kimm 2).2: German: from a short form of the ancient Germanic personal name Chunibald formed with chunni ‘race people’ or kuoni ‘daring experienced’ + bald ‘bold brave’.3: English: variant of Kimber.
Kover : 1: Hungarian (Kövér): nickname from kövér ‘fat’.2: German (Köver): variant of Küver a Low German form of Kuper an occupational name for a cooper or tubmaker.
Kuebel : German (Kübel): metonymic occupational name for a cooper from Middle High German kübel ‘tub barrel’ or possibly a nickname for a fat man one ‘round as a barrel’.
Kueber : German: occupational name for a cooper from Middle High German kuofe ‘vat barrel’.
Kuebler : German (Kübler): occupational name for a cooper from an agent derivative of Middle High German kübel ‘tub vat barrel’. Alternatively but less likely it may be a derivative of the Franconian dialect word Kobel ‘hut dovecote’ here denoting a farm laborer's cottage and hence a name for a cotter (a peasant occupying a tied cottage belonging to a farm).
Kuefler : German (Küfler): occupational name for a cooper or for the keeper of a winecellar from a derivative of Middle High German kuofe ‘vat barrel’.
Kuffel : German (also Küffel): metonymic occupational name for a cooper or the keeper of a winecellar from a diminutive of Middle High German kuofe ‘vat barrel’.
Kuffner : German (also Küffner):: 1: occupational name for a cooper a maker of vats tubs Middle High German kuofener küefer.2: status name for a farm laborer from Low German küffe ‘cottage stable’ German Kofen.
Kufner : German (also Küfner):: 1: occupational name for a cooper from Middle High German kuofener. This form of the surname is also found in e.g. Czechia and Croatia.2: variant of Kuffner 2.
Kuiper : Dutch: occupational name for a cooper Middle Dutch cup(e)re.
Kuper : 1: North German (also Küper): occupational name for a cooper from Middle Low German kuper ‘cooper’.2: Swiss German: nickname for a sulky person from Swiss German kupen ‘to sulk to pout’.3: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): from Yiddish kuper ‘copper’ (or a Yiddishized form of German Kupfer) hence a metonymic occupational name for a worker or trader in copper or an artificial name.
Legel : German: metonymic occupational name for a cooper from Middle High German lagel lægel ‘small vat’. It is a variant of Legler. Alternatively a nickname for an owner of a small lot. Compare Lagle and Legall.
Logel : German (Lögel): occupational name for a cooper a variant of Legel. This surname is virtually non-existing in Germany; it is found mainly in Alsace France.
Pintar : Slovenian and Croatian: archaic or dialect occupational name for a cooper from Bavarian dialect Pinter 1 a variant of standard German Binder ‘cooper’. In North America this surname may also be shortened form of patronymics Pintarič (Slovenian) and Pintarić (Croatian).
Reiff : 1: South German and German: from Middle High German reif ‘(barrel) hoop ribbon cord’ hence a metonymic occupational name for a cooper or maker of ribbons a rope maker or a topographic or habitational name referring to a house or tavern with the sign of a hoop.2: German: from the medieval personal name Riff a short form of the ancient Germanic name Rīchfrit composed of the elements rīc ‘power(ful)’ + frid ‘peace’.3: Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name or nickname from German reif ‘mature’.
Reifler : German and Swiss German: occupational name for a rope maker cooper official linen measurer (with a rope as a gauge) or tavern owner see Reiff.
Reifschneider : German: occupational name for a cooper or hoop maker (see Reiff 1). Compare Raifsnider Reifsnider and Reifsnyder.
Reifsteck : German: metonymic occupational name for a hoop maker or cooper from Middle High German reifsteck ‘bent or rounded wooden stick’.
Ringel : 1: South German: from Middle High German ringel a diminutive of rinc ring ‘ring’ hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of bone horn or ivory rings (see Ring). Compare Ringle.2: South German: topographic name for someone who lived in or by a circular plot or settlement from the same word.3: German: metonymic occupational name for a cooper from Middle Low German ringel ‘tub’.
Schaeffler : 2: Jewish (Ashkenazic from southern Germany and the former Habsburg Empire; Schäffler): occupational name for a cooper from Bavarian German Schäffler (compare 1 above).1: South German (Schäffler): occupational name for a cooper from an agent derivative of Middle High German scheffel ‘bushel’. Compare Schaffler and Scheffler.
Scheffel : 1: South German: metonymic occupational name for a cooper from southern dialect Schäffl a diminutive of Schaff ‘tub barrel’.2: German: metonymic occupational name from Middle High German scheffel ‘dry measure (for grain and salt)’ for the maker or user.3: German (Rhineland): status name for a juror (from Middle High German scheffel).
Scheffler : 1: South German: occupational name for a cooper from an agent derivative of Middle High German scheffel ‘bushel’. Compare Schaeffler.2: South German: status name from Early New High German scheffeler status name for a bailiff see Schaffner.3: Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Schaeffler a cognate of 1 above.
Sester : South German (Baden): metonymic occupational name for a cooper who made measures from Middle High German sehster a dry or liquid measure (from Latin sextarius).
Sudar : 1: Croatian Serbian and Bosniak: occupational name for a cooper from a derivative of Croatian Serbian and Bosnian sud ‘barrel’.2: Hungarian (Sudár): nickname for a slender man from the vocabulary word sudár ‘slender’.3: Croatian (Šudar): of Hungarian origin (see 1 above).
Tonn : German: from Middle Low German Middle High German tunne tonne ‘vat barrel cask’ a metonymic occupational name for a cooper or a nickname for a fat person.
Treible : Americanized form of German Treibel:: 1: from a diminutive of Traub.2: from Middle High German tribel ‘mallet’ a metonymic occupational name for a cooper goldsmith or silversmith.3: altered form of Triebel.
Triebel : East German:: 1: from a Germanized short form of the Old Slavic personal name based on the element treb ‘necessary needed’ or ‘need’ (from Old Slavic trěbъ or noun trěba).2: habitational name from any of the places near Sorau and Ölsnitz so named from Old Slavic trěbiti ‘to clear land’.3: metonymic occupational name for a cooper for instance from Middle High German tribel ‘hammer’.
Tubb : English:: 1: from the Middle English personal name Tub(b)e Tub(b)i (Old Norse Tubbi Tubbe) possibly a pet form of Thorbjǫrn (see Thorburn).2: nickname from Middle English tub(be) ‘tub large wooden vessel formed of staves and hoops’ for a cooper or someone who made or used tubs. Compare Tubman.
Tubman : English (northern):: 1: occupational name from the Middle English personal name Tub(b)e (see Tubb) + -man ‘servant of Tub(b)e’.2: nickname from Middle English tub(be) ‘tub large wooden vessel formed of staves and hoops’ + -man for a cooper or someone who made or used tubs. Compare Tubb.
Tunnell : 1: English (Surrey): apparently from an unrecorded Middle English female personal name Ton(h)ild (Old English Tūnhild from tūn ‘enclosure farm village’ + hild ‘battle’).2: Americanized form of French Tonnelier: occupational name for a cooper (Old) French tonnelier.
Vath : 1: German: nickname from fad an old stem meaning ‘man’.2: North German: from Middle Low German vat ‘barrel keg’ hence a metonymic occupational name for a cooper or a nickname for a fat person.3: South German (Väth): variant of Vogt. Compare Vaeth.
Zuber : 1: German: metonymic occupational name for a cooper or tubmaker from Middle High German zuber ‘(two-handled) tub’; or a topographic or habitational name referring to a house distinguished by the sign of a tub.2: Swiss German: habitational name from a place so named denoting an alpine stream or a topographic name from the Alemannic field name Zube denoting a running well fed by an alpine stream.3: Slovak (also Zúber): nickname from zuber ‘European bison’.4: Czech: variant of Zubr a cognate of 3 above; or a surname of German origin (see 1 above).5: Polish: unexplained.6: Serbian and Croatian: presumably a derivative of zub ‘tooth’.7: Slovenian (Žuber): unexplained.8: Muslim (mainly Ethiopia): variant of Zubair.
Zwicker : German:: 1: occupational name from an agent derivative of Middle High German zwicken ‘to secure with nails to peg’. This could denote a leather or textile worker a cooper or someone performing a similar function in a wide variety of other industries including for example salt extraction and mining.2: nickname for a physically small person or a topographic name (see Zwick).3: habitational name for someone from a place called Zwickau.
More
Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
FANBI : The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain, ©2021, University of the West of England
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